Deadly Contract: Michael McAllister Mystery Book 3 (Paperback) by Paul McNabb

Detective MICHAEL MCALLISTER holds little hope of capturing his fiancé's killer, the Cobra, until an ex-Ventura sheriff named DELMAS WHITAKER offers him a plan. Although McAllister has to maneuver through a mine field of bureaucracy with law enforcement authorities, he carefully puts each phase of the plan in place. The beautiful daughter of a couple murdered on Mondos Beach causes a distraction when she begs for help to solve the crime when locals fail to make any progress on the confusing clues available for the case. McAllister finds both the daughter and the case irresistible, especially when he discovers a completely unexpected link to the crime. Even LUCILLE, the detective's faithful classic Jaguar, gets involved in gathering clues that eventually lead to the solution of the double homicide. When Delmas decides to spring the trap, the Cobra is indeed lured into the authorities' snare; but with disastrous results. In the end McAllister must rely purely on his instincts as he pursues the most infamous killer in California history; hurtling toward a face to face duel to the death.